The Book of Bebb [Paperback]

Frederick Buechner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2001

Pulitzer Prize finalist Frederick Buechner's quartet of outrageously witty, inspirational Bebb novels in one volume.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frederick Buechner, author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction, is an ordained Presbyterian minister. He has been a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and was honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His most recent work is Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (October 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062517694
• ISBN-13: 978-0062517692
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 9.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bebb & Co. Reek With The Joy of Life (And The Afterlife), January 22, 2003

By 

William Fennell (Kyoto Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Bebb (Paperback)

Read the four novels that make up The Book of Bebb, and you'll never forget The Rev. Leo Bebb, one of the best-drawn characters in modern American literature. He lives, he breathes, he exposes his private parts, he raises the dead, he stands before the congregation with a Bible in one hand, reminding them that "charity" is the greatest virtue---and he's got his other hand out to receive the bounty of that charity.

A half-holy conman who seems sincere down to his questionable core, Bebb is a blend of Jimmy Swaggart, WC Fields, Walt Whitman, PT Barnum--and there may even be a dash of Huck Finn and Fielding's Tom Jones mixed in there somewhere.

If you stop and think about it, isn't it amazing what people can and do believe? People worship everything from stone gods to trees and rocks to Elvis Presley and space aliens, and they've always had "guides" such as priests and ministers to lead the way. The Bebb stories encourage us to question what we believe, who we believe in, and how we can possibly put our faith in anyone or anything these days----when we're faced every day with further evidence that people and their feet of clay generally stink.

These stories were written in the 1970s, and in many ways they look forward to the media-exploded days of the 1980s and 1990s, when tv programs and internet content virtually replaced the "landscape" of daily life in middle-America. Leo Bebb is essentially a charismatic, Bible-thumping evangelist from the 1940s wandering in the wilderness of late 20th-Century America. He reminds me of those ubiquitous radio preachers on AM radio coming out of Lubbock, Texas, or somewhere down south, imploring all within the reach of their syrupy drawls to accept the love of Jesus--and to send down the cold hard cash. Although there was something creepy and unsettling about those messages, there was also some strange comfort in knowing that somebody out there still found a reason to believe.

I first read these four Bebb novels in 1991, and upon re-reading them in 2003 it strikes once again me that Buechner's stories and characters are timeless. More so now than in 1991, I think these are American stories about American characters who are trying to "get ahead" in a big country filled with a roughly mixed cocktail of races, cultures, traditions, and values. They're all busy with the business of life, but they're looking for something to believe in, even in such a crazy place as modern America. Every one of Buechner's characters seems to have one foot planted on the ground and one foot stepping tentatively toward the gates of heaven.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars eternity in a grain of american sand, October 17, 2002

By 

boudu (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Bebb (Paperback)

This is a find. Buechner is a fine writer with impeccable ears; but his special quality is a kind of humanity that gives merit to the meritless, rejoicing as he has us shake our head, chuckling at their goings-on. His religion is germane, and if this matter is quite different from G.K.Chesterton's, and his voice and ego less resonant, nevertheless there's an assurance here that reminds one of the latter. Fine work, and it's a heathen here that says so.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrating our Flaws, December 26, 2001

By 

T. March Hare (atlanta, ga United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Bebb (Paperback)

I read these books at at the same time I was dealing with reconciling my spiritulaity with my sexuality. Fredrick Buchner crafts such a lovely story with heroes so flawed and utterly lovable that you can't help but identify with every one.
These characters became so important to me, that I had to put the final book down because I was so mad at one of them.
Buchener has such a way with discription and characterization.
I find these and maybe The Storm the easiest of his books to read.
Lion Country (the first book of Bebb) really helped me at a tough time in my life, I really recommend it to anyone... it will make you laugh and cry at the same time.